Daisy's Choice (A Tale of Three Hearts) (27 page)

“
Aiden.”

He watched her try to collect herself, but the fear was there. She couldn’t hide it, though she tried. He felt it when she put a trembling hand to his chest. His eyes dropped at her touch, then back to her. “I can keep her safe, and you can go back to doing… what you do… just go, okay?”

“
I should just go? Because you asked me to?”

“
Aiden, please.”

“
There is no
go
. No, Daisy. I’m here to stay and I want a DNA test.”

“
No!” Daisy gasped, then stepped back in horror.

Aiden nodded yes. “You’re going to give it to me. I want you to know that she’s ours. Then
you
will have to deal with me. No more of these games. If I didn’t love you still, Daisy, I’d take her just to give you some of your own medicine,” he hissed.

“
You don’t understand. I won’t do that. I can't.” Daisy shook her head. “I won’t do it!”

“
You don’t have a choice!” he dismissed.

“
Mama?”

Aiden turned and looked back to see Amy standing at the bottom step. She wore a pink shirt and panties with a book in her hand. He smiled at her. When he made a step toward her, Daisy pulled him back and pushed him aside.

“
Amy,” Daisy said going to her. “Go back upstairs sweetie.”

“
Where’s my snack? I’m hungry.”

“
Um, okay… okay.” Daisy scooped her from under her shoulders and lifted her into her arms. She managed her weight, glancing back at Aiden before walking away to the kitchen. Amy’s arm wrapped around her neck with the book dangling from her hand. She stared directly at him from over her mother’s shoulder, smiling. He winked. That exchange didn’t break until she was from his sight. He ran a hand back through his hair and breathed slow. Then he put both hands to his head and began to pace, considering what he would do next and maybe reconsidering, if Daisy didn’t push him.

When Daisy returned from the kitchen with Amy holding both a book and a banana, she flew past him. She didn’t give him a chance to speak. He let her go. He agreed with her on one point. He didn’t want Amy to see him the way she did. But they were far from over. As she climbed the stairs, he watched her shapely legs in stiletto heels. When she was gone, he looked around once more, considering the things she said; his life, what a child would mean and what he wanted. It didn’t matter. Amy was here. And he’d never let her grow up thinking of him the way he did his own father. He sure as hell wouldn’t let another man raise her. A child meant more to him than Daisy ever considered. She would learn that tonight amongst other things. They weren’t done. Not even close. Then he heard the knocking at the door. It was a small distraction because his thoughts and needs overpowered his senses, but the knocking continued.

Aiden looked past the living area to the front of the house and at the door, curiously. His attention returned to the stairs. The person knocked again. He decided to answer it.

****

Pete checked his watch. He had driven another ten minutes as to not arrive early, and to cool off. They could speak reasonably. How he behaved earlier and treated her was uncalled for. Right now, they had a daughter. He had a daughter to consider. But curiously, his eyes were drawn again to the driveway. A yellow Ferrari was parked behind a black Mercedes. He frowned at the car and the extravagance. Daisy’s new life was beyond him.

The doorknob turned and so did his neck. When it opened, he didn’t trust his eyes. How could he? Aiden Keane towered over him, filling the frame. A small smile of satisfaction played up the corners of Aiden’s mouth.

“
Petie-boy. Now this is a surprise,” Aiden said, looking him over, then locking eyes with him once more. Shock and rage occupied the same space within him as he processed Aiden’s unexpected appearance. Worst case scenario was that Pete expected to find a locked door and possibly Daisy gone. He had prepared himself for that scenario and even considered what it would take to find an attorney to keep Daisy from shutting him out. He had rehearsed how he’d explain to Nina the inclusion of Amy in his life. But Aiden Keane being there, now, was beyond him.

Aiden’s eyes were hooded as he stared through Pete. The unspoken hostility shared between them hadn’t changed over the years. Pete stared back in waiting silence. The tension between them strengthened and lengthened. His nose flared as he resisted the urge to lunge at the man. He hated him so much.

Aiden smirked, “Get lost Petie-boy. You’re not needed here,” he said, slamming the door in his face.

****

"Sharon said that they ate fish. Is that true mommy? Do they eat fish?”

“
Who, baby?” Daisy asked, setting her down to her feet. She glanced back at the door, half expecting to find Aiden standing there.

“
Dogs. Sharon says that dogs eat fish. I don’t think so. A dog can’t swim. Right, mommy? In my book, the dog lives in a house, a doggie house not the water.”

Daisy heard the knocking below.
It was Pete
. Her heart knew it instantly.

“
No,” she groaned inwardly, turning from he daughter with mounting panic.

“
No?” Amy said tilting her head.

Daisy ignored her and went for the TV. She pressed the button and flipped it on, turning up the volume while placing it on a favorite channel that would loop cartoons. “Okay, baby, stay here. I’ll be back.”

“
You gonna be with him. With daddy?” Amy asked, taking a small bite from her banana.

“
What?”

“
Daddy. He's my daddy. I heard you say it in school,” Amy smiled.

Daisy frowned. Suddenly it made sense. It wasn't Pete at Amy's school today. It was Aiden. What was he plotting?

She heard the door slam. “Stay here.” Daisy said, hurrying out of the room and making a dash for the stairs.

****

Pete blinked out of his stupor. He threw the door back open and charged inside. Aiden strolled into the living room non-pressed. “What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped to his back.

“
Pete?” Daisy said hurrying down the stairs, gripping the banister tightly to keep from falling the rest of the way. She seemed distressed. It was worst than he imagined. Aiden Keane had him followed and then forced his way in. He glared after him now in full rage, ready to pound on him until he got some satisfaction. Aiden, for his part, just gave an evil smile, daring him to step closer.

“
Did he force his way in?” Pete asked taking a step toward Aiden. “You did, didn’t you? Well this ain’t Vegas. Your money don’t mean shit here. I don’t see your body guards… just me and you.”

Daisy hurried off the final step. She was in Pete's face. He tried to shove her aside, but she shoved back, forcing him to deal with her instead. ”Pete, don’t. Amy’s upstairs.”

“
Get rid of him, Daisy,” Aiden said, clasping his hands behind his back.

“
What? Get rid of me? You psycho! Call the police, Daisy!” Pete shouted, shoving her aside, ignoring her repeated pleas for him to calm down. “What you do? Follow me? That’s it! Isn’t it! Stalking and harassing her? You’re some kind of sick freak! Call the police, Daisy. Now.”

A wry but indulgent glint appeared in the swirl of the green of Aiden’s eyes. He stepped forward as well.

“
Pete, stop! Listen to me! You too, Aiden. The both of you just stop!” she said, getting between the men with a hand on each of their chests to keep them apart.

Pete looked at her again. Her eyes cast downward and her arms stretched out between the both of them. Something was terribly wrong. She wasn't frightened or worried. “What are you waiting for? Did you invite him in?”

“
Just like old times huh, Pete?” Aiden chuckled, and Pete cut him a look once more. “The three of us together. Well not exactly three… we are missing a player. Wonder what old X-tacy is up too?”

“
Shut up!!” Pete leveled a finger at him. He looked back to Daisy. “Talk to me. What’s really going on here?”

“
Talk to him. Let’s not keep Pete in the dark; he’s all grown up now.”

“
Shut your fuc-king mouth!” Pete snarled.

Aiden’s eyes darkened.

“
I won't put up with this. Do you hear me? You two are acting like babies.” She dropped her voice. “If you want to fight, do it outside!”

“
Daisy let me in, Pete. She always does. Right, Daisy? Just like she did two days ago in Arizona.”

“
Shut up, Aiden!” Daisy snapped. She turned on him. “Stop it!”

Aiden smiled. He held Pete’s stare, Pete’s gaze slowly arched back and forth between them, absorbing their familiarity, seeing, really seeing what was there. Aiden nodded as if he read his mind and knew the pieces were being put together.

“
Aw… Pete gets it, Daisy. It's about fucking time,” Aiden snapped.

“
Get out!” Daisy snapped. “Get out of my house right now, Aiden.”

Pete felt a lot of things in that moment. Worse of all, he felt the sting of her betrayal all over again; repeated blows to his heart over a woman that never cared for it. How could he have risked everything with Nina for this?

It was all for Amy, he reminded himself. Still, to know that Daisy felt anything for Aiden Keane shattered what little faith he had left in her.

He looked away from her. It hurt too bad to gaze upon her now. And Aiden, the bastard, wasn’t done with him yet. He continued in a mocking tone. “I get it, Petie. You think my daughter is yours? Still confused aren’t we?”

“
She is mine,” Pete said, looking to Daisy once more. Daisy finally met his gaze, her eyes glistening with tears that trembled on her long lashes.

“
Daisy?” he asked.

In his heart, he knew. It was something he just refused to accept and that he prayed against in the back of his mind since he found her. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Amy wasn’t his. Maybe, most possibly, that little girl he felt a connection with when he first saw her was Aiden’s. “Did you use protection with him?” he asked, his throat going dry and his stomach clenching as it churned into a tighter knot.

She avoided his stare and looked back to Aiden. “Go! Let me talk to Pete and explain.”

Aiden chuckled, “No. I want to hear the answer. Did we use protection in Vegas? Do we ever?”

“
You’re sleeping with him?” Pete asked.

“
No, Pete. I mean, it’s not what you think. Damn it, Aiden! Shut up!” Daisy said, shaking her head in frustration. “The both of you, coming at me at once. I can’t do this.”

Aiden smiled. “She’s mine, Pete. Always has been. I told you that back in Hollow Creek. You don’t listen very well.”

“
I don’t belong to you! Either of you, damn it! I don’t owe you two anything!”

“
The hell you don’t! This is your mess!” Pete shouted at her. “Yours! You brought him into our lives after I warned you and…” Pete glared. “You don’t know? Do you? You really don’t know who Amy's father is.”

“
No, I don’t. And I don’t want to know. Because I knew neither of you could handle it. Even now, you’re more concerned with marking your territory than my child.” She hugged herself and walked away. “I won’t be ripped apart between the two of you. Get out of my house. Now.”

Pete looked at her with disgust. “Who the fuck are you, Daisy? Who?”

“
I’m not Daisy anymore, Pete. Not the Daisy you remember.”

“
Time to go, Petie boy.” Aiden touched his shoulder. Pete swung, slamming his fist into Aiden's jaw that drove him back. But Aiden either anticipated it or recovered swiftly with a backhand slap across Pete's face, followed by two consecutive gut punches that were lightening swift.

“
Are you insane? Stop it!” Daisy gasped.

Pete doubled over but managed an upward punch that winded Aiden. He seized the moment and charged Aiden with his shoulder bent low, taking him in the midsection with such force that they crashed through the patio doors. Shards of glass, splintering, flew outward as they both landed on the terrace floor. Aiden threw him off him. Pete didn’t have time to counter-attack when he was hit again in the face. He swung wildly to no avail. Aiden grabbed him by the throat and flipped him over the balcony. Pete landed with a thud on the hard sand. The wind was forced out of his lungs and he blinked blindly in pain.